Motility of Intestines, Psychological causes, Iatrogenic diseases, Unknown factors – That Effecting the Living creature

Ayurveda for a healthy life ! – 23/2024

11.     Vegavarodha – Suppression of natural urges

Discussed in detail before

12.     Srotodushti – Vitiation of body channels

Discussed in detail in before

13.     Agni – Enzymes

Discussed in detail in before

14.     Koshtha – Motility of Intestines

In general fifteen organs are referred as parts of koshtha:  They are – Umbilicus (nabhi), heart (hridaya), pancreas (kloma), liver (yakrut), spleen (pleeha), kidneys (vrkkau), bladder (vasti), sigmoid colon (purishadhara), stomach (amashaya), cecum (pakvashaya), rectum (uttaraguda), anus (adharaguda), small intestine (kshudrantra), large intestine (sthulantra), and omentum (vapavahana).

The Koshtha is the important organ for digestion. All the three doshas and their subtypes play cricial role in maintaining the physiology of koshtha. The prana vayu propels the timely administered food to the koshtha. The bodhaka kapha in oral cavity senses the taste of food. The kledaka Kapha moistens the food and takes to digestion. Further, pachaka Pitta and samana Vayu lead the role in division into essence and waste. Samana Vayu is important in breaking down the moistened food into small particles for easy digestion by pachaka Pitta. Further, the wastes of food are expelled by apana Vayu. The essence is circulated by vyana Vayu. Hence, the proper functioning of all three are necessary to maintain the equilibrium in the koshtha. In the transient stages of digestion (avasthapaka) the dosha are nourished in their respective abodes. Kapha, Pitta, and Vata in amashaya (upper gastrointestinal tract with stomach), pachyamanashaya (small intestine) and pakvashaya (large intestine) respectively. These parts of koshtha are primary seats of the corresponding dosha.

Depending on the peristaltic movements a person’s bowel may be classified according to dominance of particular dosha as a hyperactive bowel that is “Mrudu koshtha” (Pitta dominance), medium bowel that is “Madhyama koshtha” (Kapha dominance) and equilibrium of dosha’s (sama) and sluggish bowel that is “Kroora Koshtha” (Vata dominance). A person with hyperactive bowel may start purging by taking two cups of milk, eating grapes or drinking wine. On the other hand, a purgative hardly ever acts in a person with sluggish bowel that is “Kroora Koshtha”. Dominance of Vata dosha leads to sluggish bowel that is kroora koshtha, while dominance of Pitta dosha leads to hyper active bowel i.e. “Mrudu koshtha”. Persons with sluggish bowel are usually constipated, while persons with hyperactive bowel tend to have loose stools. In a person with sluggish bowel, one has to administer oil and ghee for seven days for adequate oleation of bowel that is samyak snehana. On the other hand, three days are enough for adequate oleation in a person with hyperactive bowel.

A person with balanced activity of bowel is termed as having sama koshtha. Person with madhya koshtha will develop constipation or diarrhoea on administration of diet like milk or leafy vegetables respectively.

On the other hand, a person with sama koshtha will tolerate both types of food without developing constipation or diarrhoea.

15.     Aharaja – Dietetic factors

Discussed in detail before

16.     Aama

Discussed in detail before

17.     Manasika Karanani – Psychological causes

Psychological factors like tension, fear and anger are responsible for psychic diseases like insanity, atatvabhinivesha, epilepsy etc. Psychological causes also lead to diseases of body like diarrhoea, heart diseases, diseases of body channels etc. by vitiating Vata, Pitta or Kapha. These are termed as psycho­somatic illnesses. The psychological factors increase the Raja & Tama quali­ties, which in turn vitiate the doshas Vata, Pitta and Kapha giving rise to various diseases.

18.     Krumiroga – Infectious and parasitic diseases

Described in detail before

19.     Grahabadha

Described in detail before

20.   Janapadodhwansa – Natural calamities & epidemics

Described in detail before

21.     Vaidyakruta – Iatrogenic diseases

If the physician or the nurse commits any mistake while prescribing or administering the treatment, it may lead to unexpected or more severe form of ailment or complication, which is termed as iatrogenic disease. Excessive, less or wrong use of any therapeutic measure may lead to iatrogenic disease.

22.     Purvajanmakruta – Unknown factors

The aetiological or causative factors of the disease can be divided into

A.    Known factors and

   B.    Unknown factors, where it is not possible to demonstrate the relation between the cause and effect. The known causes are either environmental factors or “Pradnyaparadha” that is not following the dictates of one’s own conscience as we have seen before. Some of the unknown causes can be explained on the basis of hereditary or constitutional weakness.

However, why should only a particular child of the same parents suffer from hereditary disease or constitutional flaws ? At present, the physicians put these unknown factors as fate, destiny, nature, bad luck etc.

Indian philosophers believe that these unknown factors are the fruits of sins of past lives as well as of present life maturing in this very life. Neither God nor the demons or ghosts torment man. Man himself is responsible for the painful or comfortable state of his health.

The deeds of our past life ?

There is life after death.  Death is not an end.   It is like going from one phase to another Phase. But while going to next phase i.e. life we carry our deeds from the previous birth. After death when the soul leaves the physical, gross and mortal body in this world, it starts the the journey for new life.  Every one should realise that the materialistic things, money can’t be carried with us except our deeds. Our house, family, or our body stays on earth.  Only our deeds come with us.  Some deeds give us fruit immediately, for example, when you eat, our hunger is satisfied immediately; some deeds give us the fruit after some time.  If individual lives an irregular life i.e. without following any particular schedule for sleeping or eating, then it will certainly give an impact on the health after some months.

Some deeds take a long duration to give its fruit.  They won’t give the fruit in the present life.  So these deeds come with us to the next life and the collective fruit of all these deeds is called as destiny. Destiny is the collective fruit of all our past deeds.

Destiny gives three things in our life :

The kind of body we receive, where we will be born and who will be our parents; What our life span will be;
Our fate, how much happiness and sorrow we will have to bear in life.
Every deed has its own outcome that we have to accept.  Until we do not bear the fruit of all our deeds, our deeds do not rest.

To relieve ourselves from bearing the outcomes of our bad deeds there are two ways to be followed :

1. Knowledge which is like a fire that burns these sins. 2. The path of devotion which involves chanting  the name of Deity which destroys the sins. We should pray Deity for His forgiveness and chant His name always. This thus relieves the burden of the fruits of our bad deeds.